Maborosi

B+

Directed by Kore Eda Hirokazu

I firmly believe that Kore Eda Hirokazu, along with Kiyoshi Kurosawa, is the best Japanese director working today. Director of such gems as "Nobody Knows" and "Afterlife," Hirokazu has a unique ability to deal with huge issues, such as death, abandonment, or betrayal, in a way that is both simple but essentially very profound and wise. "Moborosi," although a maybe not as good as his other major works, is another good example of the depth and breadth of Hirokazu's abilities as a filmmaker.

After the untimely death of her husband, (played by none other than Tadanobu Asano!) Yumiko agrees to an arranged marriage and relocates to the coast of the Sea of Japan to start her new life. When she arrives, she is thrown into a life that moves at a significantly slower pace than what she was used to back in Osaka, but with time Yumiko comes to enjoy her surroundings and love her new husband.

Hirokazu is often compared to Ozu due to the aethetic similarities of the two director's works, but the comparison shoujld also strethc to the content of both their films. Like Ozu, whose films used small, almost anecdotal vignettes to tackle much bigger issues, Hirokazu's films also employ the same type pf slow, meditative pace in their examination of personal trials and tribulations which are used to illuminate the bigger picture. Also like Ozu, Hirokazu is a filmmaker who possesses a great deal of emphathy for humans and their struggles. Watching a Hirokazu film, like watching an Ozu film, is most notable for the amount of sympathy he can garner for characters whose struggles are not that out of the ordinary, in many ways. (well, maybe not for the kids in "Nobody Knows"...) In this way, "Maborosi" succeeds greatly insofar as the trials and tribulations of not only Yumiko but of her son, her new husband and his daughter all face in attempting to rebuild their lives. My main criticism of Maborosi is that the relationship between Yumiko and her new husband was barely fleshed out and we were not allowed to see the awkwardness and the loneliness that we are led to believe existed between the two before they finally came to love each other. This contrasts rather visibly with the portrayal of Yumiko and her ex-husband's relationship which is fleshed out in remarkably good detail for the length of time Hirokazu spends on it. Nevertheless, "Maborosi" is a strong effort by a wonderful director and is worth a look for anyone who wants to see one of the major works of one of Japan's foremost living directors.